


But That Was Yesterday

by Pixpi



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/F, Gen, Gender-Neutral My Unit | Reflet | Robin, Healing, Mostly Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reunions, Soul-Searching, Twin Morgans, chrobin is background btw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 18:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15467826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixpi/pseuds/Pixpi
Summary: It has been six months, seven days, and thirteen hours since That Day, when the world had changed forever. Lucina knows this because her sister has kept count ever since. She also knows this because that was also the day that Lucina, with Morgan in tow, had fled the life she felt she no longer belonged to, and had left the people she called family.Now worn beyond her years and crumbling under the weight of life, Lucina finds herself yearning for the friends that she had once sworn her life to. Before long, Lucina decides to find them.A story about Lucina, the children of future past, and the reality of living in a world that won't remember you.





	But That Was Yesterday

**Author's Note:**

> After more than a year of inactivity, I rise from my grave with an absolute monster....
> 
> Hello everyone! Pix here. Before we begin, I'd like to thank my beautiful girlfriend Puripuki and my good friend sarurunkamui for looking over this before I posted it; go read their stuff if you have the time! (For the record, I'm still miffed about ao3's hatred of indents.)
> 
> The second generation has meant a lot to me, so I thought it was high time I wrote a tribute to that.

In an empty courtyard bathed in moonlight, childish whispers were heard, hushed and frantic.

" _Shh!_ We're gonna get caught," quiets the cautious whisper of one.  
  
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" questions another, "We'll get in a lot of trouble if someone sees us."  
  
"Don't be a baby! We're only gonna be out for a little bit, and you agreed to come anyway," rebuts another. Quieter, they add, "'Sides, it's just the courtyard."  
  
With the whispers came the soft giggles of anxiety and excitement; the sounds of small footsteps on cobblestone terrace. There was a certain thrill that came with sneaking in the dark, and the children clamber close in the unpracticed giddiness.  
  
"It's too dark, I can't see!" whines a white-haired child, "Hey!" he yelps, "Who pushed me?!"  
  
"I'm serious you guys, _SHUSH!"_  
  
Naturally, this only causes more children to pipe up, and before long, an alarming cacophony begins to devour the courtyard.  
  
Now, Lucina, a young and bright princess of only eight years, had been leading the group of twelve up until this point. Though now with the noisy bickering, her mission and the reason they'd all gathered in the first place was in danger, and so, she stops abruptly in front of her peers. Her friends stumble and trip over each other, and she scowls as she turns to face them, furrowing her brow in her best attempt to appear commanding.  
  
"Come on, knock it off!" she demands though she keeps it quiet when she does; it wouldn't do to be seen at this hour, "Do you guys want to get caught? Remember what we came here for."  
  
There are murmurs and nods as if the party had forgotten why they had braved the courtyard at night in the first place.  
  
"Sorry Luci," says Inigo, the whiny white-haired boy, "We wanna help you find Robin's ring and everything, but—"  
  
"It's creepy here," finished Noire, a timid girl who had been trudging in the back of the group, "Maybe we should turn back, Luci. How long are we going to be out here for?"  
  
A few others chime in with grievances of their own, and Lucina begins to panic. Losing the ring was her own fault, yes, and the courtyard was eerie at night, true; but she needed her friends' help if she wanted to find it before sunrise. If she wanted to keep their interest, she'd have to think fast.  
  
Then, she gets an idea.  
  
"Okay, tell you what," she starts, "Let's make it a game!"  
  
"A game?" questions one child, Cynthia. Lucina knows she has their attention.  
  
"Yes!" She says excitedly, "It'll make our search more fun, you know? We'll call it— Shepherds!"  
  
"Like our parents?" asks another, Yarne.  
  
"Exactly! My dad's the leader, so I'll pretend to take his role," There is a few whines and complaints, but she speaks over them, "And we'll split into groups, too. Our mission is to recover the lost—um—"  
  
"The treasure of Ylisse!" A loud voice suddenly cuts her off, and Lucina looks to Owain, her cousin. The boy has a bright expression, turning to face the group as he stands beside her.  
  
"Treasure?"  
  
"Yes!" Owain proclaims though he hushes himself to a whisper. "Ylisse's greatest treasure, guarded for hundreds of years— the Fire Emblem!" Lucina feels embarrassed watching Owain as he strikes a dramatic pose, but to her surprise, their friends are enraptured, attention locked on Owain's story for their little game.  
  
"Why are we looking for the Fire Emblem?" asked Nah.  
  
"Because it was stolen!"  
  
"Stolen?! By who?" inquired Kjelle.  
  
"By the Grimleal!" There's a gasp from Cynthia, who leans forward in excitement.  
  
"The Grimleal?!"  
  
"Yes, the Grimleal!" Owain continued, "They used their dark magic to seize it when the Shepherds weren't looking, so that means it's up to us to take it back!"  
  
Everyone begins to chitter and talk excitedly, and Lucina takes control now, satisfied that everyone's in on the game. "That's the set-up! And remember the Fire Emblem looks like a ring. So, if you find the ring, we've got the Fire Emblem and you win the game! Think of it as an adventure. Is everyone in?"  
  
"I'm in!" says Kjelle, and several others chip in agreement. "We said we'd help you anyway, Lucina, you didn't have to make it a game," Kjelle is bigger than Lucina and stronger too, but gives the girl a playful shove while Lucina laughs, "But let's get started now—before someone notices we're gone."  
  
"Thank you, Kjelle. This means a lot to me," She says with a sweet smile. Then she takes a deep breath, gaining her composure before she puts on a determined face.  
  
"Alright! Shepherds, to arms!" She says, reciting lines she's heard her father say many times before (although she doesn't quite understand their meaning), "The Grimleal will find us soon if we don't hurry, so let's split into groups of four and get the ri—um, I mean— the Fire Emblem!"  
  
Her friends look on in anticipation, awaiting their orders.  
  
"Gerome," She calls; the boy in question jumps in surprise, perking his head up. He was a quiet boy, tall and dark-haired whom always tended to hang awkwardly at the edges of the group. There is a rare glimmer of excitement in his eyes now though.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"You can lead the first group with Brady and Inigo. You guys can go check over near the bushes," Lucina points behind her in the direction they had come from, "But you'll be closest to the gates, so let us know if you see anyone coming or see anything weird, okay?"  
  
The three boys share glances between each other; Gerome fiddling with his fingers and Inigo keeping his eyes trained on the ground while Brady merely sniffs.  
  
But they all nod, Gerome promising to look as best as he can before heading off to the northwest corner of the courtyard while Lucina wishes them good luck.

"Okay, next... Kjelle! You, Noire, and Yarne are going to look near the ponds."

Noire and Yarne, the two most timorous of the group, gawk at being paired with the bolder and brasher Kjelle, but Kjelle salutes and drags them away, eager to serve her princess and friend.

"And Laurent, you take Nah and Cynthia near the south gates, okay?"

Laurent was the one who had vainly tried to silence everyone earlier, and Lucina is sure that he has something to say. But before he can even speak, Cynthia beats him to it and salutes much in the same manner that Kjelle just had, beaming brightly.  
  
"You got it, Luci! We'll look super-duper hard. Come on, let's go!" And Cynthia is off, running towards the south gates. Nah, the young manakete squeaks in surprise and hurries to catch up, leaving a very exasperated Laurent.  
  
"Cynthia, Nah, wait! Didn't you hear what Lucina said?!" Owain laughs as Laurent sprints after the girls, and Lucina can't help but laugh too.  
  
Her friends were a colorful group, but they were good friends all the same, and she loved them dearly. Now though, with all of them off in their own corners of the vast courtyard, only Owain and Severa are left with her.  
  
"You two, do you mind coming with me? I'm going to look near the fountain, so..." She trails off a bit, looking the other way shyly. Owain was family, and it was only because of him that everyone was working together, so it was natural that she had wanted to pair herself with him.  
  
Severa, on the other hand, was, well, Severa. She was the daughter of a well-respected knight that Lucina's father was a friend of, and the two girls had known each other since both were very young. Severa was a special friend to Lucina, even within their circle.  
  
"Absolutely!" Owain beams, bouncing excitedly like he always did at the prospect of 'adventure'. Severa glances between the two as if she is unsure of an answer, but lets a rare smile escape her.  
  
“Yeah, sure."  
  
"Alright, thanks!" Lucina says, "Follow me."  
  
The fountain was centered in the middle of the courtyard, the numerous pathways of the quadrangle all coming to meet and wrap around the structure. It was tall and artfully constructed, sporting many fine details and carvings of the royal family's crest on its white exterior.  
  
Unfortunately, said fine craftsmanship often went unappreciated by the children, who saw it as more of a playground than a work of art. The fountain was also Lucina's favorite part of the courtyard, and she had left it for her team's search for this very reason.  
  
The sound of the water trickling down in the night is soothing as the three approach the fountain. Taking the lead, Lucina clambers on to the rim of the water basin, carefully sitting herself down so as not to fall in. She motions for Severa to take the opposite end, whereas Owain begins to rummage around the base and nearby shrubs.  
  
Peering down into the starlit water, the princess can barely make out the dark outline of her reflection, the ripples distorting both she and the waxing moon above her. Neither she nor Severa is likely to see anything in the lighting, but Lucina hopes she'll be able to feel around for it if the ring had fallen in.  
  
"Are you sure it's around here?" Severa asks as she, too, tries to feel around for the ring.  
  
"Well, it could be anywhere, really," Owain answers in Lucina's stead. He's on his hands and knees, having apparently resorted to crawling in his search. "But the Justice Cabal had an initiation here today for the twins. You weren't there."  
  
"I wasn't there because I have better things to do than dress up and play pretend like some toddler," Severa snaps, leaning dangerously close to the water.  
  
"Psh. Get real. What do you think you're doing now?" Owain quips back.  
  
Severa takes offense to that, and while her cousin and best friend bicker, Lucina let her mind wander.  
  
The ring did indeed belong to her other parent, Robin; or at least, it had. A small little band it was, golden with a jewel on the outside and an inscription of love within; intricate yet humble, it was the ring Lucina's father had given Robin before they had married.  
  
Lucina had always thought it was a beautiful ring, but when she had turned eight just that year, she did not expect Robin to give it to her, laying it gently in her hand as they had clasped their own around hers.  
  
_"But didn't Daddy give this to you?"_ she remembered asking as Robin had laid a kiss to her hair.  
  
_"He did, and I am giving it to you now."_  
  
_"But won't he be upset?"_ Her father loved that ring very much, he had one of his own, after all.  
  
"Your father will understand, Lucina. And one day, you will too."  
  
Lucina was not sure what Robin meant, but they had wished her a happy birthday and played with her afterward. Not long after, Robin had gotten one of the terrible headaches that they were prone to get, and had gone to bed with an apology. Lucina had not been able to question further, but she didn't mind. That's how their conversations usually ended these days.

Naturally, when Lucina had lost the ring after playing in the castle's courtyard with her friends, she had panicked. It had been her birthday present and something that Robin had loved very much. If Lucina lost it forever, she'd not only upset her parents, but she would never understand why it had been given to her in the first place.  
  
Luckily, after hearing her plight, her cousin Owain had gathered the children that now lived with them in Castle Ylisstol and convinced them to commence a search after night had fallen.  
  
Her friends had always gone above and beyond for Lucina, and she'd have to find a way to repay them soon, but for now...  
  
"Hey, Lucina!" Severa suddenly calls her name, snapping Lucina back to reality and out of her reverie. "I saw something—right there!"  
  
The girl points near Lucina's edge of the fountain; sure enough, a faint glimmer catches the moonlight reflecting off the water and Lucina gasps.  
  
Quickly, she yanks it out of the water and looks at her find. Through the stay droplets in her eyes, the familiar golden band and jewel shine brilliantly in her hand. Robin's ring! She's found it!

Well, somewhat.

"Severa, you found it, you found it!" Climbing down from the basin, Lucina rushes to the other girl and hugs her tightly, blinking back tears of relief. Severa stiffens for a moment, but Lucina feels the embrace returned, and a soft giggle from her friend.  
  
"Owain! We found the—"  
  
Then, out of nowhere, the young princess is cut off by a bloodcurdling scream. Lucina lets go of Severa immediately, and the trio stands silent. In an instant, the relief in her chest is forgotten and replaced with a primal, unabashed fear.  
  
"Yarne...?" Owain finally trembles, but Lucina is already off and running, Severa calling after her.  
  
"Hey! Is everything okay?!" She calls out in the dark, but when she turns past the hedges that lead to the ponds, she no longer needs her answer.

Yarne is crouched low in fear; shaking, frozen with Nah behind him—  _why was Nah here? Hadn't she been with_ — Lucina does not see Kjelle nor Noire, but a small body lies at the feet of.. of some  _thing_ , something that Lucina feels she recognizes yet cannot name.  
  
The something before them is both human and not, its rotting sinew of muscle clinging to bones that stuck out from its frame. Its decaying chest heaves a horribly congested rattle and Lucina trembles in horror.  
  
She knows she needs to get away; she needs to find the others, her father, someone; she does not, though. Lucina is frozen where she stands and as the monster lifts its head with a sickening crack, glossy bloodshot eyes lock with wide fearful blue ones. It lunges with a speed a creature like that should not have, and Lucina shrieks.  
  
But before she can be struck, the world melts and fades away.  
  
There is a sword in the princess's hand now, and it shakes with a purpose in her grip. As she still screams with terror, her arms have already raised and swung, slicing through flesh that is not decayed and reeking of death. Red coats the stainless steel of Falchion, and its victim slips away and plunges into oblivion.  
  
Lucina can finally breathe, but not for long.  
  
The sky above her is no longer a black canvas painted with stars, instead repurposed with angry clouds of orange, red, and yellow.  
  
The ground below her is not the familiar terrace of the old courtyard in Ylisstol, and now she stands shakingly on the hard black exoskeleton of a monster far larger and omnipotent than the Risen; the Fell Dragon, Grima.  
  
Lucina is a child no more, she is a grown soldier, and there is a battle to be won. A battle that she'd been fighting long before she ever took up the sword.  
  
Through a disturbing sense of deja vu and confusion, Lucina charges forward up Grima's back, desperate to make her way to the nape of the beast despite not knowing why. The fast-paced steps she takes are familiar, like something beyond herself is guiding her feet as she runs her throat raw with cries and cuts down Grimleal fanatics who try and obstruct her path.  
  
"Lucina!" A voice calls and her head snaps back to make brief eye contact with a younger boy, a glowing tome in his hands and blue hair to match her own— her brother, Marc.  
  
The boy's eyes are a mix of determination and fear, and he stumbles to catch up with his sister before she stops him.  
  
"Marc, stay with Morgan!" She orders over the cacophony as she turns back in time to parry the axe of an enemy, "I-I'm going up ahead to Father—go!"  
  
"But, Lucina, wait—"  
  
Marc does not get to finish, however, as suddenly the entire bulk of Shepherds and Grimleal alike are nearly thrown off the serpent by a bellow so loud and so utterly wrong in its construction that the air itself seemed to still.  
  
In that instant, a cry cuts through the ominously silent air, agony and fear seeping through its cracks.  
  
_"ROBIN! NO!"_  
  
It is the voice of Lucina's father, and her heart sinks with dread. She doesn't register how it happened, and in a way that feels neither here nor there, she has made her way through the enemy ranks, standing a few feet from the nape of Grima's neck.  
  
There's a strange light emitting further ahead, but she can't identify it through the shadowed frame of her father, Chrom.  
  
"Father!" She calls, though strangely the man does not move, "Are you alright?!"  
  
There is no answer; Chrom either does not hear her or he is too lost in what lies ahead. Lucina, perplexed and out of breath, reaches out to him to see if he's okay,  
  
Instead, in a blur, there is Robin, standing before the wilted remains of a doppelganger no more. There is a purple glow still crackling between gloved fingers and though despair fills her heart, Lucina understands, and she wants to cry.  
  
The hooded figure before her turns to look at their daughter from another life, and through the cast of their cloak, weary brown eyes lock with hers, relief and sadness all the same reflected in them.  
  
They speak, and they speak in a voice that already sounds like it came from a world beyond.  
  
"Lucina..." They say, but Lucina shakes her head. She tries to take a step forward, but she is chained to where she stands. She can't see her father anymore, she can't see Marc or Morgan either. She can't see anyone, for there is only the ghost.  
  
"Lucina," Robin repeats like a hymn, "I am so sorry, Lucina."  
  
She cannot bring herself to answer.  
  
"I have to leave you behind now, Lucina. I have to leave everyone behind."  
  
_'But you don't,_ ' She feels herself say this, but she does not hear it, _'You don't. I was supposed to leave, not you. Father, Morgan, Marc, everyone—'_  
  
The world is shifting oddly as if it is moving apart from itself. It is distracting, tugging at her more and more, but still, Lucina hears Robin speak:  
  
"But you'll see me again. You'll wait for me, won't you?"  
  
She wants to say yes, and she wants to say no. The edges of her vision are blurring in ways she can't describe.  
  
"We'll see each other again, Lucina. We'll see everyone again—"  
  
_We?_  
  
'But when?' again an echo that isn't spoken yet heard all the same; there's an odd fuzziness like she's about to pass out.  
  
"In another..."  
  
Robin is fading, everything is fading— Lucina wants to hold on just that much longer, to not be alone.  
  
"...life."  
  
It is then that Lucina finally finds the strength to scream, but she does not scream Robin's name. It is a word that has never yet always been what they were to her; foreign and familiar. A word that was worlds away despite the few feet it stood from her.  
  
But all it becomes is an echo, and the world melts and fades away.

**Author's Note:**

> This had more dialogue than I originally envisioned, but oh well. If you're confused about Lucina referring to Robin by their name, don't worry; that will be covered in later chapters. Speaking of, the next chapter should hopefully be posted within the next two weeks.
> 
> Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading, and have a nice day!


End file.
